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Augie Garrido, college baseball’s winningest coach, passes away at 79

Augie Garrido, the whimsical coach with the small-ball philosophy who led Texas baseball to two national championships and won more games than any other coach in college history, died Thursday morning in California. He was 79.

He had been hospitalized since suffering a stroke last weekend.

Garrido ruled the Texas dugout from 1997 until 2016, having previously coached at Cal State Fullerton, Illinois, Cal Poly and San Francisco State. He amassed an 824-427-2 record with the Longhorns, leading Texas to national titles in 2002 and 2005. He won five championships in all, having won with Cal State Fullerton in 1979, 1984 and 1995. With a career record of 1,975-951-9, Garrido is the all-time winningest coach in Division I baseball history.

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“Augie was a giant in our game,” Texas head coach David Pierce said in a statement. “His impact on baseball, on the Forty Acres, and on me and so many others will live on forever. My thoughts are with Jeannie, his friends, his family, and all those who were lucky enough to have met him, played for him, or learned from him. His presence will be sorely missed but his legacy will never be forgotten.”

He set the career wins record in 2003 when Texas toppled top-ranked Florida State for his 1,428th win. Eleven years later, he broke the record for all collegiate coaches in a 5-1 win over Texas State.

Florida State’s Mike Martin, who has coached the Seminoles since 1980, could break Garrido’s career record this season.

Texas head coach Augie Garrido walks out to field before the start of the game to gather his team on April 27, 2014. (Ralph Barrera/American-Statesman)

“I feel blessed that I really haven’t had to go to work since I was a little kid,” Garrido said. “I had every bad job in America growing up. Finally, I picked one out of passion and it was the right choice. My dad told me I couldn’t do it. What I know is if you’re the best at anything, you’ll be able to keep your job. That’s what drove me — trying to be the best I could be, and I still am driven by that.

“When I did sign this two-year extension (after the 2014 season), I went up to the cemetery where my mom and dad are buried. I knocked on his tombstone and said “Dad, when I finish this contract I’ll be 79 years old. I think I kept my job.”

“What might seem exceptional for one person was very normal for him, to be able to perform and be successful in different environments,” Garrido said of Street, who has 324 saves in 13 MLB seasons. “His fearless approach to throwing to the mitt and trusting his teammates to do the rest — he came here with that.”

Augie Garrido provided plenty of memories for Texas baseball fans over his 20 years with the Longhorns. (American-Statesman staff)

Texas won 18 of its last 20 games in 2002, with the final one being a 12-6 win over South Carolina to win the national championship at the College World Series. Led by pitchers Justin Simmons and Street as well as Tim Moss’ and Dustin Majewski’s All-American bats, the Longhorns went 57-15 and secured the school’s first baseball title since 1983.

Three years later, Garrido led UT back to the winner’s circle. Following a runner-up finish in 2004, Texas closed out its 2005 campaign with seven straight wins. The Longhorns (56-16) beat Florida 6-2 for the crown.

Texas relieved Garrido of his duties following the 2016 season. The Longhorns had reached the College World Series in 2014, but the program posted losing records in conference play the next two years. Texas went 25-32 in 2016; Garrido’s final game was an 8-2 loss to TCU at the Big 12 tournament.

Following his departure, Garrido had served as a special assistant to the athletic director. But he was occasionally still seen at Texas games. Last month, he and legendary LSU coach Skip Bertman threw out the ceremonial first pitches ahead of the two schools’ first meeting since the Tigers beat the Longhorns for the 2009 NCAA title.

“This is a very, very sad day,” UT athletics director Chris Del Conte said in a statement. “We lost one of the greatest coaches of all time, a truly special Longhorn Legend and college athletics icon. There will never be another Augie Garrido. He was a once-in-a-lifetime personality whose impact on Texas Athletics, collegiate baseball and the student-athletes he coached extended far beyond the playing field. If you were fortunate enough to have spent time with Augie, or if you followed him in any way, he had a great effect on you with his brilliant combination of wisdom, wit and charm. He was just an incredible coach, molder of men and a great person. He will be missed, but the memories of him and his awesome accomplishments will carry on forever. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Jeannie, and his family.”

He was born August Edmun Garrido, Jr. on Feb. 6, 1939 in Vallejo, Calif. Garrido’s first appearance in the College World Series was as a Fresno State outfielder in 1959. After three years with the Bulldogs, he spent six years in the Cleveland Indians’ farm system.

In 1966, Garrido landed his first coaching job at Sierra High School in Tollhouse, Calif. Three years later, his coaching career began when he took over the program at San Francisco State University.

Garrido is survived by his wife, Jeannie, and daughter, Lisa.

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